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THE 



OFFICE OF REASON 

IN 

RELIGION. 

Bij JOHN CLARKE, D. D. 

MINISTER OF THE FIRST CHURCH IN BOSTON* 
% 

MASSACHUSETTS, 

And Author of the " Answer to the Question, 
Why are you a Christian ?" 



Reafon is the glory of human nature.— — The power of Rea- 
foning was given us by our maker for this very end, to purfus 
truth ; Dr. Watts, 

On argument alone my faith is built ; 

Fond as we are, and juftly fend of faith, 

Reafon, we grant, demands our firft regard ; 

Reafon the root, fair faith is hut the flower; 

The fading flower fliall die ; but reafon lives 

Immortal, as her father in the Ikies: 

Wheny<z/V£ is virtue, reafon makes it fo, 

Through reafon^s wounds alone, thy faith can die. 

Dr. Young. 



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1808. 4 



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ADVERTISEMENT. 



•■»>♦«■•■■ 



The following little piece is extracted from a sermon 
published in America. Dr. Clarke was a person of great- 
industry, learning, and purity of character. His answer 
to the question, " Why are you a Christian ?" is highly, 
and justly esteemed, by ail who are acquainted with it. 
No apolog37 can be necessary for publifhing the following 
pages, at a time when the systems of our fathers are 
made to pass in review before us ; and when feme very 
good persons, from a mistaken zeal in the caufe of reli- 
gion, decry human reason, and represent it as highly 
pernicious to the cause of Christianity. The great 
founder of our religion never called for implicit faith. 
The apostles, following the steps of their master, invited 
others to prove all things, to examine and judge for 
themselves ; the Bereans followed this advice, and are 
highly commended for their conduct. Reader, imitate 
their example 



F. B. W. 



Liverpool Sept. 3, 1808. 



OFFICE OF REASON, fa 



I. Corinthians, x. 15, 
I speak as unto wise men, judge ye* 

The apostle Paul, as he had been the instrument of 
converting the Corinthians, felt a generous concern to 
preserve them in the faith and purity of the gospel. 
Having been formerly a lewd, luxurious, and vicious 
people, he knew they were in great danger of relapsing 
into their early habits. This he might have inferred 
from the established laws of the human constitution. 
But the matter was put beyond all doubt, by the dis- 
orders which prevailed in the Corinthian church, not 
many years after its establishment. In the first place 
it was disturbed by parties and factions : in the next, it 
cherished in its bosom a notorious offender, who had 
been guilty of incest. A covetous and litigious temper 
had likewise discovered itself in that church. And 
finally, they had made fome approaches towards idola- 
try, by turning the Lord's supper into an intemperate 
revel. 

To impress them with their sinful deviations from 
Christian duty, and to excite within them a just sense 
A z 



THE LIB* ART 
OF CONGRESS 



WASmWOTOWf 

4 OFFICE OP REASON 

of their danger, the apostle addresses these faulty 
Corinthians in the following words, " Wherefore my 
dearly beloved brethren, Jlee from idolatry. I speak as 
to wise men, judge ye." That is, I have been faithfully 
fetting before you the errors into which you have fal- 
len ; and the guilt which you may still farther contract. 
Particularly have I admonished you against all those 
idolatrous practises, to which you were accustomed in 
your heathen state. Let me now repeat the admoni- 
tion. As you regard the honor of your religion, the 
favor of God, and the future salvation of your souls> 
flee from all approaches towards idolatry. I now speak 
as unto wise men. I address myself to those, who 
have had an opportunity to inform themselves on the 
subject. I call upon you to examine the matter with 
due attention. And I refer it to your own cooler, 
and more deliberate thoughts, whether there be not 
reason in what I have advanced. In this manner, I 
have no doubt, the apostle Paul meant to express him- 
self ; ?nd that the Corinthians so understood him, there 
is every reason to believe. 

But without confining these words to the early 
christians, they may be confidered as applicable to men 
in the present day. It is the duty of every m^n to 
make use of that portion of reason- which God has 
given him. When we go to our bibles, we must take 
our understandings with us ; we must make them our 
guide, when we weigh the evidence of Christianity ; 
we must employ them to ascertain the meaning of the 
scriptures. In order to perceive the excellency, use, 
and beauty of divine revelation, we must have recourse 
to this faculty. And we must so far reverence the 
authority of reason, as to admit no doctrine to be divine, 
which is directly contrary to its intuitive perceptions. 
Of the truth of these positions I feel the fullest 



IN RELIGION. 



s 



conviction. And that the apostles had the like 
conviction is manifest from the following passages ; 
•1 Prove all things ; search the scriptures : be ready to 
give an answer to every man, that asketh a reason of 
the hope that is in us ; in understanding be men." 
All these directions suppose that reason is a very im- 
portant faculty ; and that it ought to be exercised on 
subjects of religion. 

My design is to point out the proper office of reason 
so far as religion and revelation are concerned. And, 
first, as christians we should exercise our understanding 
upon the evidence of the gospel : otherwise, how 
should we be able to give a reason for the faith that b 
in us. To say that we were born and educated 
christians, will not satisfy every enquirer. To say that 
we feel our religion to be true, will be considered ra- 
ther as a flight of enthusiasm than as a sober argument. 
There is no other way to satisfy others, and to discharge 
our duty to ourselves, than by the application of our 
reasoning faculty to the internal and external evidences 
on which Christianity rests. 

It is argued in favor of the christian religion, that it 
bears internal marks of the truth. One office of reason, 
then, is to examine this argument. We should repair . 
to the writings of the evangelists and apostles, and 
should seriously consider whether the account which 
they give of Jesus Christ, his moral character, his doc- 
trines and laws, his promises, discoveries, and his fate, 
be consistent with itself : whether his representations 
of God accord with our natural apprehenfions of the 
supreme being ; whether his delineations of duty consist 
with our internal sense of right and wrong : whether, 
in a word, the actions and discourses, ascribed to Jesus 
of Nazareth, appear to be worthy of one bearing $ 



6 



OFFICE OF REASON 



divine message to the children of men. These are 
points of importance ; and they may very properly be 
brought to the bar of reason. It is her business to 
view the subject on all sides. And it is her decision 
that should determine us to embrace the gospel, and to 
reject those systems of faith which are inconsistent 
with her dictates. 

Another argument in favor of Christianity, is derived 
from the accomplishment of prophecy. To determine 
the strength of this argument is likewise the province 
of reason : that is, we must make use of our under- 
standing to select the predictions, which are supposed to 
refer to Jesus Christ, and to see whether the reference 
be just. Thus did the noble Bereans, and they are 
commended for so doing. For their own satisfaction, 
they searched the scriptures : they reviewed the pro. 
phecies, which had been referred to by the apostles, 
With them they compared the accounts, which they 
had received respecting Jesus Christ ; and they exa- 
mined carefully and critically, whether there was a 
correspondence cf the prediction and event. This 
was making a proper use of their rational powers ; they 
behaved like wise men ; and their example is well 
worthy our imitation. 

Again Christianity, rests on the evidence of miracles. 
It is the office of reason to examine the nature of those 
miracles ; their more immediate occasion ; the circum- 
stances attending them ; the impression they made 
upon spectators ; and to ascertain the precise weight of 
evidence arising from this source. Unless we have 
reason to recur to in this case, how are we to distin- 
guish the wonderful works which are produced in at- 
testation of the gospel from the tricks of an impostor, 

it not then a mark of the utmost weakness to under- 



IS RELIGION* 



7 



take the faculty of reason ? Is it not manifestly wrong 
to exclude it from the concerns ef religion ? Do we 
not shake the foundation of the christian faith, in pro- 
portion as we ascribe weakness and error to the human 
understanding. 

If reason be an uncertain guide, its authority suspi- 
cious, and its province far remote from religious specu- 
lations, then, among all the religions which prevail in 
the world, no man could have any just ground of pre- 
ference. Whether he were a Jew, Pagan, Mahometan, - 
or Christian, he would act with equal wisdom. But 
the case would be far otherwise, might reason be called 
in. The different religions in the world being submit- 
ted to the sober examination of this faculty, he might * 
with great propriety, make a choice among them ; and 
might justify his choice by convincing arguments. 
Because reason pointed out its impiety and absurdity, 
he might reject Paganism. Because the same divine 
records which furnish the origin of Judaism, furnifh 
reasons to believe that it is superseded by Christianity, 
he might reject the Mosaic institution, And he might- 
be led to prefer the Gospel to the Koran, by comparing 
the respective characters of Jesus and Mahomet ; the 
doctrines which they taught ; the rules which they pre- 
scribed ; and the measures to which they had recourse, 
in order to propagate their religions. In this manner 
would reason come to the aid of truth ; and so far from 
being hostile to the Christian faith, it would furnish 
the only sure and stable foundation for believing. 

What has been said on this head will sufficiently 
fhow the use of reason in discovering the efTential marks 
of a divine revelation, and the evidence neceffary to 
support it: and it is the business of every one to 
exercise his understanding on this subject. This 



3 



OFFICE OF REASON 



faculty was bestowed upon us for wise and benevolent 
purposes. The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord ; 
and if we keep this light trimmed and burning, we 
shall make a just return to God, from whom we re- 
ceived it, and we shall do honor to ourselves. Its 
friendly rays will preserve us from enthusiasm on the 
one hand, and infidelity on the other : ! and we mail 
never be without a substantial reason for the faith 
which is in us, so long as we receive the gospel with 
the temper of wise men, and calmly examine its evi- 
dence. 

But farther, it is the office of reason not only to 
examine the grounds upon which divine revelation 
claims our aff^nt, but also to judge of its sense. How 
are we to know the meaning of the gospel, but by the 
exercise of our understandings. A book is put into 
our hands, containing many important doctrines, many 
useful precepts, many interesting discoveries : it is 
written in an ancient language ; and has many allusions 
to ancient customs and usages. The stile of this book 
is also in many places, highly figurative ; and it con- 
tains principles, some of which are capable of a general 
application, and others peculiar to the age in which the 
volume was written. Into what absurdities, then, must 
every one fall, who repairs to the sacred scriptures, 
without taking reason with him as a guide. 

In the first place, he must run into endless errors in 
respect to the doctrines of revelation. Many of those 
doctrines are expressed in figurative terms. Some, 
which relate to God; some which relate to Jesus Christ; 
some which respect futurity ; are conceived in terms, 
which though perfectly agreeable to the genius of the 
eastern languages, appear almost extravagant to a modern 
car. What would not a man receive as divine truth, who 



!N RELIGION* 



9 



should refuse to listen to reason, and should reject her 
comments upon these passages ? What enthusiastic prin- 
ciples would he not find in his bible ? What wild extra- 
vagances would he not build on a perverted scripture i 

In regard taJGod, he would ascribe to that infinitely 
pure and amiable being, both human parts, and human 
passions. For we read of the eyes, the face, the ears, 
the voice, and the hand of God : we read of his wrath, 
his pity, his grief, and his repentings. Sometimes God 
is styled love, sometimes light, and sometimes a consum- 
ing fire. These expressions can miflead none who 
exercise their reason. That spirit which is in man, 
will always help him to the true sense of these passages : 
and he who makes a proper use of his understanding, 
will infer nothing from tbem, which is not strictly ap- 
plicable to the divine character. 

Again, Jesus Christ is often described in language 
as highly figurative. He says of himself, / am the vine 
— / am the door — I am the good shepherd — / am the 
resurrection, and the life — / am the way and the truth 
- — / am the light of the world. And the apostles style 
him a lamb — a rock — the day star, and the like. 
Strong and bold as these figures are, they lead us into 
no mistake respecting Jesus Christ. Reason dictates 
in what manner they are to be understood and applied, 

But, rejecting reason, should we interpret these ex- 
pressions literally, how should we dishonor Jesus 
Christ, and disgrace revelation ? What absurdities 
should we impute to the christian system ? And how 
should we insult and disgust the common sense of 
mankind ? The consequences of refusing reason its 
authority, will be manifest at once by a reference to a 
passage of scripture on an important and interesting oc- 



OTFICE OF REASON 



casion. The same night in which Jesus was betrayed, 
we read, Matt. xxvi. 26. He took bread, brake. it 9 
and said, this is my eodt. If we take these words 
literally, as some have done, we must admit that Jesus 
Christ, whilst he was alive and familiarly talking with his 
disciples, took his own body and brake it, and exhorted 
them to eat of it. So likewise he called the wine at his 
supper his blood. Matt. xxvi. 27, 28. And he took 
the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to 
them saying, drink ye all of it, for this is my blood, &c. 
&c. Let reason perform its office here, and we shall 
not be at a loss to form a right opinion on this subject* 

But the doctrines of revelation are not the only points 
upon which the understanding mould be employed. 
"We must call in the aid of reason, in order to ascertain 
the meaning of its precepts. Some of the rules, which 
we find in the New Testament, do not bind the present 
age. Others are of lasting obligation. Some are con- 
veyed in figurative, others in plain language. How 
then are we to distingnish, but by the sober exercise 
of the understanding ? Jesus Christ told his disciples, 
if they were " smitten on one cheek, to turn the 
other." Reason tells us this is a figurative expression, 
, and that it means nothing more, than that there are 
times when it would be more prudent, more politic, 
more amiable, and in every point of view, better to 
submit to the repetition of an injury, than to have recourse 
even to legal measures, in order to obtain redress. 
Again, our Savior, in a manner directs us to hate our 
father, mother, wife, and children; reason tells us 
that, strong as these expressions may seem, they can 
imply no more than that we should love our earthly 
connexions in a less degree than we love Jesus Christ. 
Again the apostle Paul delivers many sentiments on the 
subjects ©P dress, marriage, and the use of meats, 



IN RELIGION. 



! f 



which though pertinent in his day, do not apply to ours. 
Reason tells us to consider such directions as particular 
rules, which ought to be regarded, rather as articles of 
history, than matters of practice. 

From the instances now produced, we must be con- 
vinced of the use and offices of reason in our religious 
enquiries and studies. The Son of God addresses us 
as rational beings, and we should judge what he says, 
we should employ our reasoning faculty upon the evi- 
dences of his mission ; we mould have recourse to it in 
order to ascertain what he has taught, and what he 
would have us to do. In stating the motives of reli- 
gion^ we should make use of our understandings : by 
their aid, and under their direction, we should separate 
figures from plain speech ; we mould compare present 
and past times ; should contrast modern and ancient 
customs ; and fhould compare scripture with scripture. 
This is our duty ; and to discharge this duty, our reason 
must be set to work. 

Let me persuade you to study the scriptures as 
rational beings. A rational christian is the most exalt- 
ed character any man can sustain. To know what we 
believe, and upon what grounds we yield our assent ; 
to be able to give a reason why we are Christians, 
rather than Jews, Mahometans, or Heathens ; and to 
be furnished with a ready answer to those who may en- 
quire why we are of this religious denomination, rather 
than any other ; these certainly are most desireable at- 
tainments. And to be able thus far to justify his reli- 
gious peculiarities, every man ought to be solicitous. 

Be persuaded, then, to read, examine and reflect. 
Under this impression, that faith and reason cannot be 
at variance, make all possible use of the latter, in order 



12 



OFFICE OF REASON, &C. 



to settle the grounds of the former. Always regard 
the gospel as a reasonable institution ; and your duty as 
a reasonable service. Prove ail things ; examine all 
opinions ; and compare all parts of the sacred volume. 
Whatever you hear, like the justly commended Bereans, 
search the scriptures ; and see whether they speak the 
same language. In a word, as christians, and in under- 
standing be men. Thus, sober and inquisitive, you 
may expect a divine blessing. Thus will you be able 
to judge rightly. Your ideas of the Supreme Being, 
of Jesus Christ, and the gospel salvation, will do honor 
to your understandings, and your temper and lives, re- 
gulated by the precepts of the great teacher of Christi- 
anity, will, do honor to your hearts. Your religion will 
be of the rational kind, which all, who reflect, must 
admire. Instead of bewildering yourselves with mys- 
teries, you will modestly dismiss what you cannot com- 
prehend. And instead of placing yonr religion in rites 
and forms, it will be your principal concern, to " do 
justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God." 
Such will be the happy consequences of applying to 
yourselves those words of the apostle : " / speak as to 
wise men, judge ye what I say. 




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